Tiempo Muerto

I recently discovered this term through an article about the impending sugar shortage in the country. Literally, it means 'dead time'. But apparently, it is used in the sugar industry in Central Philippines to refer to the off-season of sugar or the time between planting sugarcane and waiting for the harvest.

I find it very interesting how deeply embedded the Spanish language is in this industry that dates back to the Spanish era. The phrase 'tiempo muerto' is also memorable to me because about ten years ago I googled what 'idle time' was in Spanish (tiempos muertos). To be honest, I don't even remember why I did that but it's amazing that our subconscious mind can retain insignificant information that we have come across only once in our lives.

The unfortunate story of the looming sugar shortage began last year when unfavorable weather conditions (La Niña) and high fertilizer costs resulted to a reduction in our sugar production. High global sugar prices also led to lower yields as producers would harvest their crops too early.

Will the country experience a sugar shortage? Perhaps not as sugar producers are willing to have an early 'tiempo suerte' (a term used to refer to the sugar milling season or the culmination of 'tiempo muerto'). But does it mean that local sugar prices will go back to what they used to be? Probably not as inputs and global prices are very high right now.
 
Since sugar does not expire, it would be a good idea to stock up on this sweetener in case a shortage does happen. 





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